Antitumor activity of aspirin
Last reviewed: 07.06.2024
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According to statistical information, it can be traced that people who take acetylsalicylic acid for a long time and systematically, are less likely to suffer from cancer - however, not all, but for example, malignant tumors of the digestive system. This can include such common pathologies as cancer of the rectum or colon, esophageal cancer. The development of lung or breast tumors does not seem to depend on aspirin intake.
Acetylsalicylic acid is often prescribed to elderly patients, people suffering from cardiovascular disease - primarily for the prevention of thrombosis. It is noted that in all these people the incidence of colorectal cancer is significantly lower than in those who do not take aspirin. Scientists for a long time could not answer the question of why this is so.
Representatives of the University of Munich studied cell structures of colorectal cancer tumors and found that acetylsalicylic acid in some cases increases the level of micro-regulatory RNA - one of the types of service RNA, which are encoded in DNA, but do not contain protein information. The main purpose of microRNAs is to suppress the production of individual proteins. Their goal is to detect a matrix RNA with information about a protein, bind to it, and cause its cleavage or breakdown of the mechanism that synthesizes the protein.
Aspirin activates the action of a cellular enzyme that affects the special transcription factor NRF2. This term is applied to proteins that can stimulate certain genes that regulate the processes of information transportation between DNA and RNA. The transcription factor is processed by an appropriate enzyme, passes from the cytoplasm into the cell nucleus and activates genes of existing anti-tumor microRNAs. And that's not all: acetylsalicylic acid inhibits the function of another protein that suppresses the action of the NRF2 transcription factor. As a result of these almost opposite processes, this factor begins to function more intensively.
As a result, tumor cells become abundant in micro-RNA, which leads to a decrease in their malignancy: the cells become less mobile and lose their ability to invade healthy tissues. In addition, many molecular reactions of cell malignancy change, and apoptosis, a mechanism of programmed cell death, starts in tumor structures.
It is important to consider that the proven antitumor abilities of acetylsalicylic acid take place on condition of prolonged regular intake of the drug. And this action applies mainly to tumor processes of colorectal type and esophageal cancer. In addition, the risks of cancer development are reduced, but not excluded altogether. It is possible that in the near future scientists will be able to refine all the nuances of this issue and create a new drug that can not only prevent the development of tumors, but also treat them.
Information is available at page NATURE